Bison B.C. – Dark Ages

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For their second Metal Blade release, and their third over all, Vancouver’s Bison B.C. continue to deliver their slightly-more-stoner version of High On Fire, with the usual instrumental passages now found in “post rock” mixed with elements of the hardcore scene. The production here is a notable step up from Quiet Earth, with a much harsher vocal, but musically it’s mostly more of the same. There a few new ideas here, like the purely traditional metal intro to Two-Day Booze, which may have a fuzzy, sludge guitar tone, but the twin lead melody is unmistably of Iron Maiden construct. Some Corrosion of Conformity-esque Southern grunge dominates Die of Devotion, and Bison B.C.’s punk/hardcore/thrash roots from previous band S.T.R.E.E.T.S. are more evident here on tracks like Take The Next Exit than they have been previously. It’s times like the latter where their obvious talent is muddied under an unnecessary desire to bludgeon in a less-subtle way than they could be achieving with some of their more technical work. The album closes with the third part of Wendigo (the first two parts were on Quiet Earth), which has a very strong, and very enjoyable, Orange Goblin feel to it, combining stoner and doom riffs under an aggressive but properly-directed vocal. Bison B.C.’s stoner, doom and southern influences are their best, and the stronger of the styles here, but the descents into a sludgy kind of hardcore lessen the quality drastically.

Written by Andy Lye
More: 2010, Albums, Quick.Play Reviews, Stoner, Bison B.C.